Insect light trap with light transmissive glue board

ABSTRACT

Insect capture is improved by providing a glue board having an adhesive coating on its front surface and forming a pattern of insect attractant. UV light on that front surface. That pattern includes areas of bright UV light generated by light-emitting diodes behind and visible through the glue board by flying insect, dimmer areas of UV light that bounces off other portions of the device onto the glue board, and areas of shadow on the glue board where no or little UV light is present.

CROSS-REFERENCED TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION I. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to insect traps. Morespecifically, the present invention relates to improvements to insecttraps employing a light source as an insect attractant and a glue boardas an insect capture device.

II. Discussion of Related Art

Those skilled in the art know that light provides an effective insectattractant and that light in the ultraviolet (“UV”) range of the lightspectrum is particularly attractive to many flying insects. UV light islight having a wave length generally in the range of 100 to 400nanometers.

Based on this phenomena, designers of insect light traps have oftenemployed fluorescent tubes incorporating phosphor that predominantlyemits UV light instead of white light visible to humans. One advantageof such fluorescent UV tubes is that they can be “tuned” to give offpeak light in very narrow UV ranges based upon the phosphor selected.For example, europium-doped strontium fluoroborate phosphor will producea peak emission of light in the 368 to 371 nanometer range whilelead-doped barium silicate phosphor will produce a peak emission oflight in the 350 to 353 nanometer range. However, energy consumption bysuch light sources and disposal of such light sources createenvironmental issues. Health concerns can also arise if the fluorescenttube breaks and its contents are inhaled or ingested.

Those skilled in the art also know that an insect trap must not onlylure the insects to the trap, but must also either capture or kill theinsects that are lured to the trap. Four basic methods are used. First,electrical grids that electrocute the insects coming into contact withthe grid have been used. These, however, are entirely unsuitable forrestaurants and other areas where food is prepared or served due tosplatter of bug parts. Second, various poisons have been employed, butthe use of a poison is unacceptable where young children are present whomight ingest the poison. Third, various mechanisms have been employed tomove the insects into chambers from which the insect cannot escape. Forflying insects, this technique typically involves the use of fans thatcreate an airflow or current drawing the insects into a chamber and thenpreventing the insects from escaping. Fourth, adhesive surfaces such asthose of glue boards have been used. Glue boards are generally safe, buta glue board coated with flying insects is generally unsightly andunpleasant to look at. Also, if the light source is any distance fromthe glue board, insects attracted to the light source may never comeinto contact with the glue board and, thus, may fly away without beingcaptured.

In view of the foregoing, there is a real need for improvements inflying insect trap design, both in terms of insect attraction andcapture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to insect traps including a light source,a glue board and a housing. The light source comprises an electroniccircuit including a plurality of spaced apart light-emitting diodesadapted to emit light in the ultraviolet range of the light spectrum.The glue board includes a substrate having front and back sides and anadhesive layer coating a selected portion of the front side. The glueboard is adapted to permit UV light to pass through the glue board. Thiscan be achieved by making the glue board out of UV transparent or UVtranslucent materials, or perforating the glue board if the substrate ismade of a material otherwise opaque to UV light.

The housing is adapted to hold the electronic circuit and the glue boardso that the front side of the glue board coated with the adhesive facesaway from the electronic circuit and the light-emitting diodes emit UVlight through the glue board. The housing also has a front panelincluding openings defined by closed sections having edges. The openingspermit flying insects to enter the trap through such openings. Theopenings also permit the adhesive layer of the glue board to be viewedthrough such openings by flying insects. The closed sections are adaptedto cause at least some of the light from the light-emitting diodesreaching the closed sections to bounce off the closed sections and on tothe adhesive layer coating a portion of the front surface of the glueboard. The closed sections also serve to at least partially mask fromthe view of humans standing or sitting in the room insects stuck to theglue board.

When a trap having the above-described features is in use and theadhesive layer of the glue board is viewed by flying insects through theopenings in the front panel of the housing, a pattern is presented onthe glue board comprising bright direct UV light from the light-emittingdiodes, dimmer bounced UV light and shadows.

The various components described above may include other features. Theelectronic circuit may be adapted to be powered by household current.The electronic circuit may be coupled to prongs projecting directly froma flat surface on the back of the housing and adapted to be plugged intoa standard electrical socket such that the prongs not only supply powerto the circuit, but also physically support the insect trap.Alternatively, a battery may power the electrical circuit and analternative mounting means may be employed to hang the trap on a wall,ceiling or other stable structure.

Also, the light-emitting diodes of the circuit may be arranged in apattern. That pattern may comprise at least two rows of light-emittingdiodes. When the glue board has perforations, those perforations may bearranged in the same pattern as the pattern of the light-emittingdiodes. The light-emitting diodes may also be adapted to emit light inboth the ultraviolet and visible light ranges. The electrical circuitcomprising the light-emitting diodes may also be designed to cause thelight-emitting diodes to selectively dim and brighten or cycle on andoff to increase insect attraction.

The glue board may be UV transparent or UV translucent. Alternatively,the glue board may be generally UV opaque, but have perforations whichenable UV light to pass through the glue board. If generally UV opaquewith perforations, the glue board may be colored black to partially maskfrom the human eye any insects stuck to the glue board. Otherwise,humans could see the insects due to the presence of ambient light eventhough humans cannot see the UV light generated by the light-emittingdiodes. The adhesive may be selected to provide a glossy surface toincrease insect attraction or to provide a matte surface to better hidethe captured insects from the view of humans. The substrate or adhesivemay be smooth to cause the UV light to bounce off the glue board in aspecular manner, or may be textured to cause the UV light to bounce offthe glue board in a more diffuse manner.

The housing may have an opening that permits the glue board to bequickly and easily removed and replaced without removing any portion ofthe housing. Also, the edges of the openings in the front of the housingmay be adapted to be illuminated by the light-emitting diodes toessentially frame the openings with insect attractant light.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and attributes which may be employed to practice thepresent invention will be better understood from a review of thedetailed description provided below in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the front of a flying insect trap;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the back of the trap of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the top of the trap of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the trap of FIG. 1 with the glue boardpartially removed from the housing;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the trap of FIG. 1 with the glue boardentirely removed from the housing;

FIG. 6; is a schematic view of one example of a circuit that may be usedto generate insect attracting light; and

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the glue board of the insect trap ofFIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This description of the preferred embodiment is intended to be read inconnection with the accompanying drawings, which are to be consideredpart of the entire written description of this invention. In thedescription, relative terms such as “lower”, “upper”, “horizontal”,“vertical”, “above”, “below”, “up”, “down”, “top” and “bottom”, “under”,as well as derivatives thereof (e.g., “horizontally”, “downwardly”,“upwardly”, “underside”, etc.) should be construed to refer to theorientation as then described or as shown in the drawings underdiscussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description anddo not require that the apparatus be constructed or operated in aparticular orientation. Terms such as “connected”, “connecting”,“attached”, “attaching”, “joined”, and “joining” are usedinterchangeably and refer to one structure or surface being secured toanother structure or surface or integrally fabricated in one pieceunless expressly described otherwise.

The flying insect trap 1 shown in the drawings comprises a housing 10, aglue board 50, and an electronic circuit 70. These elements combine toprovide a unique display of insect attractant light directly on thefront side 52 of the glue board 50. An adhesive coating 54 on the frontside 52 of the glue board 50 captures any insects coming into contactwith the front side 52 of the glue board 50.

The housing 10 shown in the drawings has a back compartment 12 in whichelectronic circuit 70 is stored. The back compartment 12 comprises aback wall 14. The back wall 14 has a flat surface and two electricalprongs 16 and 18 project from this flat surface. While the drawings showthe entire back wall 14 to be flat, this is not necessary. For example,the portion of the back wall 14 surrounding the prongs 16 and 18 couldbe a generally flat surface with other portions of the wall being at anangle from, parallel to, or even having a contour other than the flatsurface. The prongs 16 and 18 provide two functions when plugged into astandard electrical outlet (not shown) supplying household current.First, the prongs 16 and 18 supply electrical energy to the electroniccircuit 70. Second, the prongs 16 and 18 support the entire insect traps1.

The back compartment 12 has two side walls 20 and 22, a top wall 24, anda bottom wall 26. The bottom wall includes an extension 28 that preventsthe glue board 50 from falling out the bottom of the housing 10. Asshown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the back compartment 12 also includes a frontwall 30. As shown, the front wall has six round openings 32.Light-emitting diodes 72-82 are visible through the openings 32. Theshape and number of these openings may vary without deviating from theinvention.

In addition to the back compartment 12, the housing 10 has a front panel34. The front panel 34 may be integrally formed with, permanentlyadhered to, or temporarily fastened to the back compartment 12. As shownin the drawings, the front panel 34 is coupled at its opposite edges tothe two side walls 20 and 22 of compartment 12 and bows outwardly fromthe two side walls 20 and 22. This provides a large top opening 36through which glue board 50 can be inserted, removed and replaced. Whilethere is a similar opening 38 at the bottom, the extension 28 of thebottom wall 26 of back compartment 12 reduces the size of the bottomopening 38 preventing the glue board from dropping out the bottom of thetrap 1 when the trap 1 is plugged into an electrical outlet.

The front panel 34 also includes a plurality of openings 40 defined byclosed sections 42 having edges 44. The openings 40 and closed sections42 are each generally elongate extending from side wall 20 to side wall22. The openings 40 permit insects to enter and light to exit the trap.The openings 40 also permit the flying insect to view the insectattractant light display described below that is presented on the glueboard 50. The closed sections 42 interfere with the ability of people toreadily view any insects trapped on the glue board 50, prevent youngchildren from touching the glue board 50 and the insects adhered to theadhesive layer 54 of glue board 50, and also help provide a display oflight on the front surface 52 of glue board 50 that is highly attractiveto flying insects.

Glue board 50 comprises a substrate 51 and has a front side 52 and aback side 53, An adhesive layer 54 on the front side 52 coats a selectedportion of the substrate 51. As shown in FIG. 6, the edges 56 of thesubstrate 51 are left uncoated so a user need not touch the adhesivelayer 54 when replacing the glue board 50. The features of the glueboard 50 discussed above are common to many glue boards offered by pestcontrol device manufacturers. However, glue board 50 has distinguishingfeatures. As shown in the drawings, the glue board 50 is adapted topermit UV light to pass through the glue board 50. This is achievedeither by making the substrate of a UV light transmissive material(i.e., a UV transparent or a UV translucent material) or, as shown, byincluding a plurality of perforation 58 extending through at least thesubstrate 51.

Examples of such UV light transmissive materials include fused silica,calcium fluoride, magnesium fluoride and various acrylic sheets such asAcrylite Op-4 sold by GYRO Industries of Parsippany, N.J. Thesematerials tend to be relatively expensive, so the less expensive optionof perforating the substrates typically employed to construct glueboards may be preferred in certain situations. The number, position andshape of the perforations 58 correspond to the openings 32 in the frontwall 30 of back compartment 12. When the glue board 50 is positioned inthe housing 10, each perforation 58 is aligned with one of the openings32 to provide pathways for UV light to exit the back compartment 12 andpass through the glue board 50.

The UV light referenced above is generated by electronic circuit 70. Asshown in FIG. 6, the circuit 70 comprises six separate light-emittingdiodes 72-82. The circuit further includes resistors 84, 86 and 88,capacitors 90 and 92 and a full waive rectifier bridge 94. Bridge 94converts to direct current the 120v alternating current supplied to theprongs 16 and 18 by the electrical outlet (not shown). The variousresistors and capacitors control the delivery of electrical energy tothe light-emitting diodes 72-82.

The electrical circuit 70 is adapted to fit in the back compartment 12of the housing 10 so that the light-emitting diodes 72-82 are alignedwith the openings 32 through the front wall 30 of back compartment 12.As such, light emitted by the light-emitting diodes can pass throughopenings 32, the perforations 58 of the glue board 50 when the glueboard 50 is positioned in housing 10, and through openings 40 in thefront panel 34 of housing 10. The light-emitting diodes 72-82 are of atype that generate peak output in the UV light range which is mostattractive to flying insects. The circuit 70 may also be adapted toselectively dim and brighten the light-emitting diodes 72-82 (or tocycle them on and off) in a controlled sequence to increase insectattraction. The circuit may also be adapted to be powered by a batterysupplying DC current.

The combination of elements described above is highly advantageousbecause it presents a light pattern on the front surface 52 of the glueboard 50 that is highly attractive to flying insects. That patternincludes areas of bright direct UV light from the light-emitting diodes72-82 that passes through openings 40 in the front panel 34,perforations 58 through the glue board 50 and openings 32 in the frontwall 30 of the housing 10. That pattern also includes areas of dimmer UVlight which travels from the light-emitting diodes 72-82 to the closedsections 42 of the front panel and bounces off the front panel back tothe front surface 52 of the glue board 10. That pattern also includesareas of shadow on the front surface 52 of the glue board 50 where no orminimal direct or bounced UV light reaches the front of the glue board50.

As noted above, the closed sections 42 of the front panel 34 have edges44. The edges 44 are also illuminated by the light-emitting diodes 72-82which is believed to aid in insect attractancy. The edges 44 frame theopenings 40.

Further, the adhesive layer 54 on the front surface 52 of glue board 50may be modified in various ways to enhance insect attractancy. Theadhesive layer can be light transmissive in the UV range so that lightfrom the light-emitting diodes 72-82 can travel through this layer. Thisis particularly important if the adhesive layer covers the perforations58 or if the substrate 51 is made of a UV transparent or UV translucentmaterial. The adhesive layer 54 can be made to diffuse the UV light orto cause the UV light to bounce off the front surface of the glue board50 in a specular manner. Either of these effects can be achieved bymodifying the chemistry of the adhesive material used or the physicalnature of the adhesive surface. A rough surface will tend to diffuse theUV light. A smooth surface will act like a mirror.

Still further, the glue board 50 (or either the substrate or adhesivelayer) may be stamped or otherwise textured with a preselected patternof depressions and ridges that cause brighter and dimmer areas of UVlight on the front surface 52 of the glue board 50. These ridges anddepressions may also be arranged to provide either sharp or blurredlines of demarcation between areas of shadow and light.

Likewise, the light-emitting diodes may be randomly arranged or arrangedin any suitable pattern for achieving insect attraction. The patternmay, for example, include two rows of light-emitting diodes, asillustrated. The pattern of holes 32 in the front wall 30 of the backcompartment 12 and the pattern of the perforations 58 in the glue boardshould match the selected pattern of the light-emitting diodes 72-82.Likewise, the number, size, shape and arrangement of light-emittingdiodes (and openings) should be adapted to that UV light is stillpresent even if one of the perforations is blocked by the body of acaptured insect.

Various advantages arise from the trap described above. First, thelight-emitting diodes 72-82 generate intense UV light without requiringmuch in the way of electrical power. Second, the glue board 50 is easilyreplaced. Third, the openings 40 in the front panel 34 are large enoughto permit flying insects to see the insect attractive UV light displayon the front surface of the glue board, yet small enough such that theclosed sections 42 effectively prevent children from reaching into thetrap. Likewise, the closed sections 42 generally block from human viewany insects stuck to the adhesive surface of the glue board 50. This isparticularly true when the user is at a standing or seated positionbecause of the height at which electrical outlets are typically mounted.

In the embodiment described above, the insect attractant light patternis on the glue board itself. Thus, insects attracted by the pattern aremore likely to come into contact with the adhesive surface of glue board50 than if the pattern is some distance from the glue board as is thecase with prior art insect traps employing a glue board.

The foregoing description is intended to explain the various featuresand advantages, but is not intended to be limiting. The scope of theinvention is defined by the following claims which are also intended tocover a reasonable range of equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An insect trap comprising: a) an electroniccircuit including a plurality of spaced apart light-emitting diodesadapted to emit light in the ultraviolet range of the light spectrum; b)a glue board including a substrate having a front side and back side,and an adhesive layer coating a selected portion of the front side,wherein the glue board is adapted to permit light to pass through theglue board; and c) a housing adapted to hold the electronic circuit andthe glue board so that the front side of the glue board faces away fromthe electronic circuit and the light-emitting diodes of the electroniccircuit are visible through the glue board, said housing having a frontpanel including openings defined by closed sections having edges, saidopenings adapted to permit flying insects to enter the trap through suchopenings and to permit the adhesive layer of the glue board to be viewedthrough such openings by flying insects, and said closed sectionsadapted to cause at least some of the light from the light-emittingdiodes reaching the closed sections to bounce off the closed sectionsand on to the adhesive layer of the glue board, wherein when theadhesive layer of the glue board is viewed through the openings byflying insects a pattern is presented comprising bright directultraviolet light from the light-emitting diodes, dimmer bouncedultraviolet light, and shadows.
 2. The insect trap of claim 1 whereinultraviolet light passes through the glue board by way of a plurality ofspaced apart perforations extending through the glue board and adaptedto permit said light to pass through the glue board.
 3. The insect trapof claim 1 wherein said electronic circuit is adapted to be powered byhousehold electrical current.
 4. The insect trap of claim 3 wherein thehousing as a flat surface with prongs projecting therefrom, said prongsadapted to mate with a standard household electrical socket to power theelectronic circuit and support the insect trap.
 5. The insect trap ofclaim 1 wherein at least some portion of the ultraviolet light emittedby the light-emitting diodes illuminates the edge of the openings. 6.The insect light trap of claim 1 wherein the adhesive layer is lighttransmissive.
 7. The insect light trap of claim 1 wherein the adhesivelayer diffuses some of the light reaching the adhesive layer.
 8. Theinsect light trap of claim 1 wherein said light-emitting diodes arearranges in a pattern.
 9. The insect light trap of claim 8 wherein thepattern comprises at least two rows.
 10. The insect light trap of claim2 wherein said light-emitting diodes are arranges in a pattern and saidperforations are arranged in the same pattern.
 11. The insect light trapof claim 1 wherein said light-emitting diodes emit light in both the UVand visible portions of the light spectrum.
 12. The insect light trap ofclaim 1 wherein the openings are elongated.
 13. The insect light trap ofclaim 1 wherein the housing has at least one opening through which theglue board can be removed and replaced without removing any part of thehousing.
 14. The insect light trap of claim 1 wherein the glue board ismade of an ultraviolet translucent material.
 15. The insect light trapof claim 1 wherein the adhesive layer provides a glossy finish to thefront surface of the glue board.
 16. An insect trap comprising: a) anelectronic circuit including a plurality of spaced apart light-emittingdiodes adapted to emit light in the ultraviolet range of the lightspectrum; b) a glue board including a substrate having a front side andback side, and an adhesive layer coating a selected portion of the frontside, wherein the glue board is adapted to permit light to pass throughthe glue board via a plurality of spaced apart perforations extendingthrough the glue board; and c) a housing adapted to hold the electroniccircuit and the glue board so that the front side of the glue boardfaces away from the electronic circuit and the light-emitting diodes ofthe electronic circuit are visible through the perforations of the glueboard, said housing having a front panel including openings defined byclosed sections having edges, said openings adapted to permit flyinginsects to enter the trap through such openings and to permit theadhesive layer of the glue board to be viewed by flying insects throughsuch openings, and said closed sections adapted to cause at least someof the light from the light-emitting diodes reaching the closed sectionsto bounce off the closed sections and on to the adhesive layer of theglue board, wherein when the adhesive layer of the glue board is viewedby flying insects through the openings a pattern comprising brightdirect light from the light-emitting diodes and dimmer bounced light,and shadows is visible to the flying insects.
 17. The insect light trapof claim 16 wherein the front surface is black.
 18. The insect lighttrap of claim 17 wherein the adhesive layer provides a glossy finish tothe front surface of the glue board.
 19. The insect light trap of claim16 wherein said light-emitting diodes are arranges in a pattern and saidperforations are arranged in the same pattern.
 20. The insect trap ofclaim 16 wherein the housing as a flat surface with prongs projectingtherefrom, said prongs adapted to mate with a standard householdelectrical socket to power the electronic circuit and support the insecttrap.